Bible Records and Biography of March Haynes, USCT Veteran

March Haynes: Union Operative in the Civil War

March Haynes was born March 4, 1825 in Pocotaligo, Jasper, SC. While enslaved, he was appointed a deacon in Wilmington Baptist Church in 1849, by the Reverend Jack Watry. It is unclear as yet who March Haynes’ slaveholder in South Carolina was. Haynes was moved to Savannah in 1858 while enslaved, and became a member of the First African Baptist Church of Savannah1.

There is documentary evidence that March Haynes’ final slaveholder in Savannah was John C. Rowland2. Haynes was literate and a skilled carpenter3. While in Savannah, he was hired out as a pilot and stevedore on local ships. Here, he gained an intimate knowledge of the waterways in and around Savannah4.

Slaveholder John C. Rowland enlisted in the Confederate service in 1861, and March Haynes accompanied him to Fort Pulaski5. While there, Haynes was conscripted as a carpenter6. John C. Rowland was captured in the fall of Fort Pulaski, and March Haynes remained7.

Following the fall of Fort Pulaski, Union Major General David Hunter issued General Order No. 7 on April 13, 1862. It stated that “All persons of color lately held in involuntary service by enemies of the United States in Fort Pulaski and on Cockspur Island, Georgia are hereby confiscated and declared free, in conformity with the law, and shall hereafter receive the fruits of their own labor8.”

Although a free man while he remained at the fort, March Haynes chose to become active in the war effort. Under the command of General Quincy Adams Gillmore of the Tenth Army Corps, Haynes became an operative for the Union forces, drawing upon his extensive knowledge of local waterways to carry out perilous reconnaissance operations, while also bringing hundreds of enslaved people to freedom within the Union lines9.

Army Chaplain Frederic Denison later recalled that

“Comprehending the spirit and scope of the war, he was ready, on the capture of Fort Pulaski, to aid the Union and assist his fellow slaves in securing their freedom. By means of a suitable boat, that he kept secreted in a creek among the marshes, below Savannah, he brought into our lines, at different times, a large number of fugitives. Finally fearing detection, he came in himself, and brought his wife. Still he was intent on serving the Union cause.

He often made reconnaissances in the night, up the creeks along the Savannah, gathering information and bringing away boat-loads of negroes. General Gillmore furnished him with whatever he needed in his perilous missions. He ordered a stanch, swift boat, painted a drab color, like the hue of the Savannah River. He might select such negroes to assist him as he thought proper. Often, he landed in the marshes below Savannah, and, entering the city in the night, sheltered and supplied by the negroes, he spent days in examining the forts, batteries, and camps of the rebels, bringing away exact and valuable information. On one of his expeditions, being delayed till after daylight, as he and his party were coming down a creek, they encountered six rebels on picket. Both parties fired. Three rebels were shot by March, and fell dead; but March himself received a bullet in his thigh. He, however, escaped capture10.”

When his activities aroused white suspicions, Haynes fled Savannah with his wife and settled her in Hilton Head, South Carolina. From there, he continued his activities11. In 1864, Haynes officially joined the U.S. Army12. Four days after enlisting, he was wounded in the action described above, being shot through the thigh. He spent time in the hospital at Hilton Head, but was unable to return to active duty13.

References Cited

[1] Love, E.K. 1888 History of the First African Baptist Church, from its organization, January 20, 1788 to July 1, 1888. The Morning News Print.

[2] The Savannah Daily Morning News, April 28, 1863, p. 2, reported that “A negro man named March, the property of Mr. John C. Rowland, has been arrested and committed to jail, charged with harboring and running off to the Yankees several negroes from this city…. He will probably have an examination in a few days.”

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